


When I find you, I'll find me

by AllisonSwan



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fake Dating, Intrigue, It has a lot more characters but didn't want to clog tags, Jon is raised Martell, Lyanna Stark & Arthur Dayne Friendship, Lyanna Stark & Jaime Lannister Friendship, Multi, Non-Graphic Mentions of Past Abuse, Past Ashara Dayne/Brandon Stark, Secret Identity, Stark Sisters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-22
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-12-18 13:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11875878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllisonSwan/pseuds/AllisonSwan
Summary: After tragedy strikes both Stark girls find their worlds turned upside down.Arya is left without options and is forced to come home, but what will she uncover when she gets there. And will those she left behind forgive her?Sansa needs to get away: enter Jon Martell. The only way to be safe is to become someone else entirely, but who will she become once she's walked among vipers?





	When I find you, I'll find me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [anniebibananie (alindy)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alindy/gifts).



> So this actually happened, I wrote fic again... Fun fact I've been working on this fic for probably months now but hadn't written it yet and then the leak of the last ep (the bullshit one we just saw sunday) angered me to the point where I was inspired to finish on pure spite.. And considering I wrote the majority of part 1 of fic in 2/3 days well I'd say it worked.. 
> 
> This fic can also be known by it's subtitles "the monster fic" and "Fuck you D&D"
> 
> Dedicated to my darling Annie, who is my biggest supporter in all aspects of this fic (editing, cheerleading, etc). I love you darling!

[](http://allisonswan.tumblr.com/post/164487182682)

* * *

 

_“Ned, please listen to me. I’m not crazy, there is something off about that guy,” Lyanna pleaded to her big brother. She didn’t know why it was so important to her that Ned believed her, but it was. With Brandon dead, Ashara gone back to Starfall, and Jaime imprisoned for killing Aerys Targaryen, she had come to Ned with her suspicions. She had come to him despite the fact that he’d been silent when his oldest friend was using her as a punching board—it had been Benjen and Jaime who had helped her get out of that situation._

_“Lya, I’m sorry, but he’s one of Cat’s oldest friends. I don’t know why you’d even think he’d be involved in something like this,” Ned said_

_“That man is no one’s friend. Baelish is bad news, I am sure of it,” Lyanna said._ _When she'd seen Baelish talking to shifty Bolton and his cronies, she'd known almost immediately she needed to warn Ned. She'd hoped he would believe her, hoped he would help her make sense of the situation, but so far it was proving to be a fruitless mission._

_“Lya, I want to believe you, I do, but there’s no proof of what you’re saying. I can’t exactly accuse a man with no proof. Not to mention how much grief it would cause Catelyn, especially considering Arya is barely a few weeks old.”_

_“Catelyn. Of course this is about Catelyn. God Ned, think for yourself for once.”_

_“That’s not fair, just because your marriage failed doesn’t mean you can criticize mine.”_ _  
_ _“My marriage failed because my husband was too busy being a whore. My marriage failed because your oldest and dearest friend liked to fix his problems with alcohol and his fists. How does it feel Ned to know that you did nothing while your best friend was hurting your sister.”_

_“That’s not fair, I had no clue what Robert was doing and you never told me,” Ned said, although the words sounded empty even to himself._

_“Ned, you didn’t know because you didn’t want to know. You were too busy playing happy family with Cat to worry about how your sister was doing.”_ _Ned recoiled, hurt and shock on his face. Even when a voice at the back of his mind reminded him that maybe he /had/ known, he had just hoped he didn't._

_“Is that what this is about? You’re angry about this so you’re inventing some story about Baelish? You’re seeing things that aren’t there Lyanna!” Ned exclaimed. He saw his sister’s face fall, and his chest tightened with the knowledge that he’d screwed up._

_“Right, because I’m just a bitter idiot who wants to hurt anyone in her path. You know I’ve been called many things since I had the audacity to get pregnant. I’ve been a whore, because I got pregnant at 16. I’m a homewrecker, despite the fact that I had no clue he was married. I’ve been called a liar for daring to say that Robert Baratheon is an abusive piece of shit. And now I’m the crazy paranoid bitch who sees things that aren’t there and wants to hurt good people, do I have that right?” Her voice was icy, cold, yet full of emotion, but most of all it was exhausted. Lyanna just wanted someone to actually listen to her for once. More than than, she wanted her brother’s support, weren’t siblings supposed to be there for you and believe in you? Was that too much to ask?_ _  
_ _“Lyanna I didn’t mean…” Ned started to say before he was interrupted._

_“I’m glad you said it, just confirmed something I had already feared, I can’t count on you. This place, this town it’s not home anywhere, if it ever was,” Lyanna stated sadly_

_“Lyanna, wait.”_

_“No Ned, I’m done waiting,” Lyanna said before she walked away, leaving him behind without a single glance backward._  

_Ned knew this was it, the moment their relationship fractured for good. He could feel it around him like the humidity in the air before a big storm, the inevitability of it. There would be no coming back from this._

* * *

Lyanna walked into the coffee shop, wanting the damn meeting to be over already. She wasn’t even planning on coming until her husband convinced her that she’d regret it if she didn’t. And, if she was honest with herself, Lyanna Snow Martell knew she was an extremely curious person. If she didn’t come, she’d forever be wondering what would have happened.. So now she was stuck in a city she hated, going to see one of the people that had hurt her the most when she was younger.  

"Eddard," she said in lieu of greeting as she reached the table.

"Lyanna, it's been a while," Ned said. His adopted sister had grown up a lot in the time since he had seen her last.

"21 years since I left Winterfell." She said as she begrudgingly sat down in front of him.

“You missed Dad’s funeral.”

“He was your dad, not mine, and if we’re talking about things the other didn’t go to, you didn’t come to my wedding,” Lyanna stated. Rickard Stark had ceased being her parental figure the moment he made her marry the oaf known as Robert Baratheon, and especially when he had pushed for a quick settlement when everything had gone sour. Lyanna had no regrets about not attending that man’s funeral.

“Catelyn was pregnant so the doctor didn’t think it was prudent to make such a long journey in her state.”

“You could have come with Ben and hell, Oberyn had suggested you could use the family plane, but I guess that would have been too much effort, right?” Lyanna remarked sardonically. Sending that invitation had been one of the hardest things for Lyanna to do, but she’d missed Ned and had wanted to send an olive branch. When they hadn’t come she’d felt like an idiot, and that had been the last time either of them had truly reached out, until now.

“It wasn’t like that. I had obligations in Winterfell.”

“There must always be a Stark in Winterfell,” Lyanna recited from memory.

“I’m surprised you came,” Ned said    

"I wasn't going to come. Oberyn thought I'd regret it if I didn't, but I’m starting to wish I hadn’t listened."

“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to fight.”

“Then what did you reach out for? I mean you went through a lot of trouble to arrange this meeting, so I’m guessing there’s a reason behind it.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You just said that.”

“No I mean, I’m sorry for the way I acted when we were younger. You were right. I didn’t know because I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to believe that my best friend would do such a thing. And yes, I know it was fucked up, and I know I should have supported you. It doesn’t matter that we don’t share any blood between us, you were my sister and I failed you when you needed me the most. That is my biggest regret,” Ned told her truthfully, and he could see Lyanna’s mask fall for a few moments before it was up once again.

“I appreciate the sentiment, but it’s too late Ned. Too much time has passed,” Lyanna muttered.

“Maybe we’ll never had the relationship we should have had, maybe we’ll never have the relationship you had with Brandon or the one you have with Ben, but I want to try. Please, Lya,” Ned pleaded, and despite everything hearing Ned using her nickname struck a chord in her.

After a few moments of silence, Lyanna spoke. “I forgive you Ned. The trusting might take a while, but I forgive you.” In that one moment Ned felt lighter than he had in many years, like that weight was lifted off his shoulders, as he made a silent vow to regain his sister’s trust. But then he remembered the other reasons for this reason and he was crushed back down.

“I admit that’s not the only reason I reached out to you. It was the major one, but not the only one.”

“What is it?” Lyanna asked curiously

“You were right.”

“I usually am, but about what?” She scoffed, sending him a joking smile twinged with a bit of sadness at what she feared would follow.

“Baelish,” Ned said, and that one word transported Lyanna back to being 22 and arguing with Ned about the subject. The insecurity. The frustration. It all rushed back to her like a well-worn coat in the back of her closet—so easy to slip right back into

“If I remember correctly, you thought I was crazy and paranoid.”

“I never thought you were crazy. I thought you were under a lot of stress, as was I, and I didn’t react in the best way. I’m not excusing myself, that’s just what happened.”  
“What changed your mind?”

“Let’s say I’ve had a few eye-opening past few weeks,” Ned stated

“Anything you’d care to share?” Lyanna asked

“Not here, not in plain daylight,” Ned said, looking around

“Is this a trick?” Lyanna asked, kicking herself for falling for one of the oldest tricks in the book. She started to pick up her things, but Ned grabbed her arm.

“It’s not a trick, Lya. I promise it’s not a trick.”  
“Either way, I have to go,” she said as she was getting up.  
“Lya, it’s about Brandon,” Ned said plainly, and Lyanna stopped in her tracks. She took a quick breath, and went back to her seat.

“What about Brandon?” Lyanna asked, leaning forward with trepidation.

“It wasn’t an accident—the car was tempered with,” Ned told her, and Lyanna just brought a hand to her mouth. She’d always suspected that it hadn’t been an accident, but no one had truly listened to her. To be fair, she’s not sure she would have listened to herself back then—Brandon’s death had been a pivotal moment in her life.

“Do you–  Do you have proof?” The mixture of emotions warring inside of her made it hard to speak, to think.  
“I don’t know everything, I have a lot of open ended thoughts and facts that make no sense, but I gathered everything I know onto a drive,” Ned admitted

“You want to set up a meeting, then?” Lyanna asked, reading between the lines, whatever was in that drive was too valuable to just hand it over in pure daylight.

“I’m going to Stannis’ Gala tomorrow. We can meet there.”

“You really think I could fly under the radar at a Baratheon function?” Lyanna remarked

“It’s the only place that wouldn’t arouse suspicion because I’m supposed to be there.”

“I’m not going to go because that would defeat the purpose, but I’ll send someone over, you’ll know him when you see him,” Lyanna told him

“Do you trust this person?”

“With my life,” Lyanna said, and Ned nodded

“Then I’ll see them tomorrow during the Gala. It was great to see you Lya, you look beautiful.” They stood across from each other, neither quite sure how to part.

“Thanks Ned, you’re not so bad yourself,” Lyanna said, and then did something neither of them expected and hugged him. “Take care of yourself.”  
“You too,” Ned said, hugging her back tightly before they separated. They shared one more look, before leaving their separate ways.

* * *

Sansa Stark was starting to really hate King's Landing,. It was always the _same_ things happening to the _same_ people, and it was impossible to not begin to feel bored. She missed the warmth of Winterfell and talking to her younger brothers. She missed the view of her childhood home. Her dad had offered to help her move back to Winterfell, and Sansa was sorely tempted by the offer.

“Sansa, are you listening to me?” Jeyne Poole asked, waving a hand in front of her friend’s face.

“Sorry Jeyne, I zoned out for a second. Didn’t have the best night’s sleep, so I’m a bit tired. You were talking about Eric?” Sansa said trying to remember the name of her friend’s latest crush.

“Beric, Beric Dondarrion.” Jeyne rolled her eyes at her friend’s forgetfulness, but she didn’t seem much bothered.

“Right, Beric.” To be fair, Jeyne’s crushes changed nearly every week. Sansa was pretty sure she couldn’t really be blamed for not keeping up.

“Do you think I should ask him to dance at the Gala, or should I wait for him to ask me?” Jeyne asked.he hope in her eyes made it so Sansa didn’t have the heart to tell her that Beric Dondarrion probably didn’t even know who Jeyne Poole was. “Maybe you should let him come to you. Or maybe you should focus on someone else, maybe someone like Edric Storm.”

“So, you think I should make him jealous? That’s brilliant! You truly are a master at this, aren’t you Sansa?” Jeyne spoke excitedly, bobbing with energy.

“I try,” Sansa said softly. She had no clue how Jeyne came to these conclusions, but then again, the Sansa from before would have done the same. The Sansa that had no idea men as cruel as Joffrey Baratheon existed would have been just as excited about a boy or a dress or a dance without thinking much of anything about it.

“I’m going to go pick up my dress for tomorrow’s Gala and get some things ready before tomorrow! We do have the appointment to get ready tomorrow, right?” Jeyne asked. Sansa eyed her innocence, and a part of her missed it in herself. Ached for the simplicity of ignorance.

“We do, it’s in the one near my apartment.” Sansa told her friend, shaking the thought away.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow!” Jeyne waved over her shoulder as she left the coffee house.

Sansa smiled and took out her sketch book as a waiter came by.

“Do you need anything else miss?”

“Can I have a slice of lemon cake and another latte, please?” Sansa asked

“Coming right up.”

“Thank you.” Her phone started ringing, and her best friend’s face came on up caller ID., “Hey, Marg.”

“So, did you know?” her friend asked excitedly.

“Know what exactly?” Sansa asked coyly, but she had a good guess about what Margaery was calling her about.

 _“_ Oh please. I love Robb, but there’s no way he planned all this by himself,” Margaery said through laughter.

“You’d be surprised. I mean I did help, but most of the ideas were originally his. I just perfected them—the ring was actually all him.”

“Seriously? I had assumed you’d picked out the ring!” Margaery exclaimed

“Nope, he picked out two rings and then showed me which one he was leaning towards. We both agreed it was the one that fit you the most. So, how did he do it?” Sansa asked delighted

“First he told me there had been a change of plans so we had to make a quick detour to the Reservation. When we got there I noticed it was a lot less busy than usual but nothing out of the ordinary until we walked to a new place. He claimed it was an entirely new project and that he wanted my opinion on it.”

“Well go on!” Sansa said laughing

“It was this huge patch of open grass, and then he turned around and asked if I liked it. When I asked what it was, he said it was my new garden.”

“What? He gave you a garden,” Sansa exclaimed incredulous. Her brother truly was go big or don’t go at all.

“You didn't know?”

“I knew he was going to propose in the Reservation, and I knew flowers were involved, but I had no clue that meant building you a garden.”

“It's more like a space for me to grow a garden because he knew I missed my gardens from home, and I’m going to set up a flower shop as well... and fuck your brother is smooth.” Margaery said rambling. She normally wasn’t one to gush, but it was clear with the excitement of the proposal she couldn’t help it.

“Seriously, go Robb... so how did he actually ask?”

“He was showing me the garden, and then we came to this one spot filled with my favorite flowers. Before I knew it, he was down on one knee and I was saying yes.”

“I'm so happy for both of you!”

 _“_ You'll be my maid of honor, right?”

“Of course! Does anyone else know yet?”

“You're the first person I told. After this I'm calling Loras. Robb wanted to wait until your dad got back home so he could tell most of the family together.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Robb.”

“And yes, we did christen the gardens,” Margaery said. Sansa couldn’t see her face, but she knew her best friend enough to imagine the mischievous expression across her face as she spoke.  

“I did not ask,” Sansa replied

“I know, but I had to… So how is everything in King's Landing?”

“More of the same. I kind of can’t believe you’re literally throwing me to the lions on my own.”

“You’re technically not alone, Jeyne will be there. Which isn’t saying much, but it’s something. Also I know Renly is basically obligated to go,” Margaery said in an attempt to comfort her friend, trying to think of all the people invited to the latest Baratheon Gala.

“We used to be more popular, what happened?”

“We exposed that douchebag’s abusive son, he went to prison, and the Frey got it in her head that I stole Robb from her so she spread bullshit about us. Stole him, please, he’s a person not an object.”

“Please, she’s just jealous because the family actually likes you, including Arya who isn’t exactly easy to get along with.”

“Your sister is great she’s just slightly protective.”

“Emphasis on the slightly,” Sansa joked. She loved Arya, but she definitely fit the word wild child. While Sansa had taken on painting and dancing, Arya had gone for fencing and boxing. And she _was_ quite protective of anyone she loved. Sansa still remembered how they had to stop Arya from going to beat up Joffrey when her sister had figured out what happened. “You know, I’m pretty sure mom will disinherit Robb if he ever screws things up with you.”

“Your mom is incredible and honestly, if someone is going to screw things up it’s probably going to be me,” Margaery admitted softly in a rare moment of vulnerability.

“You’re not going to screw things up, he loves you for who you are. Trust me, the man knew exactly what he was getting into when he started dating you, and considering he’s going to marry you I’d say he is happy with how life is going.”

“I remember when he was just your really hot older brother who I had a tiny crush on.”

“Tiny?” Sansa asked smirking. Margaery’s crush on Robb had been anything other than tiny. She’d hid it well, but everyone had been quite aware, except for her oblivious brother of course.

“You know what I mean... And San? You don’t have to go tomorrow.”

“I have a new dress, and I have an appointment to get my hair and makeup done, and I need to go for my dad. You know how much he hates these events. Plus, like you told me when this came up, this is the best way to shut all of them up,” Sansa replied

“I’m proud of you.”

“Yeah, yeah. I guess I can’t really blame you for not being here considering you are busy getting engaged.”

“I’m still floating on a cloud. I can’t believe it.”

“Well, you deserve it. You both deserve all the happiness in the world.”

“So do you darling,” Margaery told her. “I have to go, my break is over, and I promised I’d help in the front desk today.”

“Talk to you later, babes.”

“You’re going to rock the Gala! No one will look as good as you, I know it! Just have fun.” Margaery said before hanging up the phone. The waiter appeared, delivering Sansa’s food, and after a quick thank you, she fell back into her sketch.

* * *

"For someone in the business, you're surprisingly bad at this," Lyanna joked as Arthur just rolled his eyes.

"Only because you know where to look," Arthur replied closing the newspaper. "Plus, big Bro didn't seem to see me."

"Nice disguise," Lyanna commented ignoring the jab about Ned. Arthur was wearing a dark wig, and if she didn't know any better she'd never know it was one. But of course, the crowning achievement were the contacts that made his eyes look brown instead of their usual purple.

"It's been awhile since I've been in King's Landing, but the purple eyes are still recognizable," Arthur replied as they started walking towards where the car was parked.

"Ash is truly a genius mastermind," Lyanna remarked.

"So, how did it go?"

Lyanna avoided eye contact, looking out in front of them as they moved. "I have no clue what you're referring to."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Right, so it was just a normal meeting between two estranged pseudo-siblings?"

Deflecting, Lyanna hit her shoulder with his in a teasing way. "Are you jealous? You know you're still my favorite brother."

"Only because Benjen lives so far away," Arthur joked.

"I'm serious, you're more of a brother than Ned ever was," Lyanna said, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "So, was it Oberyn who told you about it?"

"I am your head of security, give me some credit, and your husband is not always forthcoming when it comes to your secrets. Not even with me."

"We keep each other's secrets instead of having secrets from each other. You'd be surprised at how much it helps with the marriage thing," Lyanna replied as Arthur let out a small laugh. It seemed like such a simple statement, and yet it said so much. Lyanna and Oberyn were both very passionate people, they loved everything deeply, especially each other. They were one of those couples that didn’t seem like they would work, and yet they did. Despite the different upbringings, the age difference, and, of course, the number of offspring from both sides. It made Arthur happy to see Lyanna happy, which was why this trip to the capital stood out to him. Why reopen those old wounds?

"Lya, you came all the way to King's Landing to have a meeting in a coffee shop with your adoptive brother who you haven't seen, let alone talked to, in 21 years. And you keep deflecting or changing the subject, so I know something happened," Arthur pointed out as they reached Lyanna's car. Arthur checked first, and when nothing seemed out of the ordinary he gave her the go ahead. She got in, rolling her eyes.

"Are you ever off the clock?" Lyanna remarked

"Yes, but not while we're in King's Landing."

"Good point."

"Where are we going?" Arthur asked, getting in the driver's seat.

"You know where," she said, and he nodded.

They drove in silence until they reached a small house on the outskirts of the city. She entered a code into the keypad by the door, and they walked in. Lyanna grabbed a few gadgets from her bag and placed them in the window, in the kitchen and on the living room table. Arthur looked at her quizzingly.

"Sarella's newest project. That girl is truly a genius." Lyanna said with pride in her voice.

"And does it actually work?"

"It's been tested. It works," she said as she turned it on, grabbing a diet coke from the fridge, passing one to Arthur, and sitting on the couch.

"If you say so."

"I know you want to ask. It's supposed to jam signals. That means if anyone is trying to listen in, all they will hear is static."

"Very clever. So are you finally going to tell me what that meeting was about?" Arthur asked.

"First of all, let me state how much it drives me crazy that I can't fool you. I can fool anyone, it's a gift."

"Well, except for your husband, your best friend, Jon, Ash, Elia, and myself."

"Well, almost anyone."

"To be fair I have known you for 27 years. It kind of comes with the territory."

"We argued about things that happened. Then he apologized for everything that happened back then, especially the Robert thing."

"There's more, isn't there?"

"I don't actually know what it is because he wouldn't tell me in broad daylight," Lyanna said, taking a sip of her coke.

"Tell me you didn't."

"The meeting is set up for tomorrow."

"It could be a trap."

"It's Ned, Arthur..." Lyanna said as if that was all that needed to be said.

"20 years can change a person."

"Not that much. Ned and I always had our differences, but if there’s one thing I know for certain, it’s that he'd never hurt me or anyone in my family. He is one of the only truly honorable men I know, present company excluded."

"I thought Rhaegar was honorable once," Arthur muttered, and regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Suddenly, he had a small knife on his leg.

"You ever compare anyone in my family to that prick, I will stick this knife in you," Lyanna responded. Arthur grabbed the knife out of her hand and put it on the table.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that Ned and Rhaegar are the same, I wasn’t comparing their personalities. I was just trying to say that sometimes our feelings towards a person can blind us to their actions, or how we perceive those actions.”

“That was a bit of an overreaction wasn’t it?” Lyanna asked sheepishly.

“It’s not the first time a Martell has threatened me with a knife, and it won’t be the last. I know how you get around the R subject.”

“We are a peculiar family, aren’t we?”

“That’s definitely one word for it. But I’m fond of Martells, one in particular,” Arthur said with a particular expression on his face.

Lyanna sighed.“You know if you made an honest woman out of her, we’d be in-laws.”

“You say that as if I haven’t tried. First she’d need to divorce her husband.”

“Ah yes, there is that small problem.”

“Small?” Arthur asked when he saw the mischievous look on her face.

“Definitely small, and let’s just say that as talented as he is with his harp he’s not as talented with other instruments,” Lyanna said as she took a final sip of her coke. Arthur almosts choked on his drink when he heard the comment.

“You are truly one of a kind, aren’t you?” Arthur said laughing

“You had that wistful expression on your face, so I figured I’d cheer you up,” Lyanna said innocently.

“Let’s get back on track before we get even more sidetracked,” Arthur said

“One day, I’ll get something past you.”  
“Maybe, but that day is not today. So, you trust Ned?” Arthur asked

“I truly trust Ned, Arthur, it’s about Brandon… He found out something about Brandon, and I need to know what it is.”

“Okay, so where is this meeting and are you prepared for it? How is it going down?”

“Oh, I’m not the one attending the meeting.”  
“Now you have truly lost me.”

“I can’t exactly go to a Gala hosted by the Baratheon family considering my past with them,” Lyanna pointed out.

“If you’re not going then who?” Arthur asked, but she just smiled and started dialing the number.

* * *

“Yeah don’t worry, I’ll be on my way,” Jon said as he got off the phone. He was tired and all he wanted was to go home and fall into bed, but he’d just gotten another assignment so that would have to wait. Kings’ Landing was not Jon favorite’s place, it wasn’t even near the top of the list, but he could suck it up for his mother. 

After all, it was a simple job this time—just go to a meeting, get the information, and head back home. And he could tell this latest mission was important to his mother, he could practically hear it in her voice. Then his phone rang once again.

 

“So, I hear you’re going to be gone again?” came the voice of one of his many sisters, Sarella.

“I just got the news,” Jon replied

“Didn’t you just come back, though?”

“Technically, I’m not back yet considering I didn’t even make it to my apartment,”  Jon pointed out.

“Did you even make it out of the airport this time?”

“I was a few blocks from the airport when mom called.”

“So what’s the deal?” Sarella asked

“That is classified.”

“Please, nothing is ever classified for me Johnny Boy,” Sarella said through what he presumed was a smirk.Jon smiled. His sister was quite the talented hacker (along with being a genius), so there were very few things she didn’t know.

“All I know so far is that it’s in King's Landing,” Jon told her. He knew a lot more than that, but his mother had asked him to keep the details close to his chest, so that’s what he was intending to do.

“Just your luck with how much you love King's Landing.”

“At least I’ll probably get free food and free alcohol,” Jon pointed out

“I do hear there is some great food in King’s Landing. Maybe that’s the reason people stay there for so long.

“Maybe,” Jon said. “Would you do me a solid and check on Ghost for me? Just see that he has food and is alright?”

“I don’t have to walk him, right? Because that involves a lot of exercise and I already covered my gym hours this week,” Sarella joked

“If you want to I’d appreciate it, and I’m sure he would too but no, you don’t have to take him out for a walk again. I know how much you loved doing that last time,” Jon said with a fond smile on his face.

“You’re never going to let me forget that, will you?”

“It is my job as your brother to tease you.”

“Speaking of brothers, have you heard from Gendry lately?”

“Last I heard he was headed to Braavos. Apparently he picked up a few freelance jobs there.”

“He’s been gone a while,” Sarella pointed out

“It’s Gendry, he’ll be back. Maybe he just found something in Essos that he is passionate about, you know how he can get.”    

* * *

"Are you done for the day?" Arya asked hopefully. If he was done, that meant they had a bit of time for doing the touristy thing. Normally she didn't like touristy things, but Gendry had a way of making them fun.

"Just a minute," Gendry called out, and Arya turned around to see him pointing his camera at her.

"No more photos please," Arya said

"The lighting is wonderful at this time of day, and it's a perfect angle, you'll thank me for this," Gendry told her. He thought she looked like a goddess in this angle, but he wasn't going to tell her that, he'd never hear the end of it. She stood still while he took the photos, then walked over to him when he finished.

"Of all the people to pick up on my backpacking trip, I had to choose a photographer," she said ironically, but honestly, Arya was glad she'd run into Gendry one of the first days of her trip. He was a good person and definitely made traveling more interesting. Not to mention the fact that she found out a lot more about the free cities while traveling with him these past few months, thanks to him explaining all the culture and the art.

"Your life would be a lot more boring without me, and you wouldn't have anything to show for your trip," Gendry pointed out.

"I did take a few photos before you came along, you know."

"Yeah I've seen those, not bad, but none of them have you in the photos."

"So?"

"So if your parents are anything like mine they care about seeing you having fun, not so much the historical sites."

"You love these historical sites," Arya reminded him, and he just smirked

"It's my job to love them, it comes with the degree," Gendry replied cheekily

"Honestly, how does someone like you end up studying art history."

"Art History and Photography," Gendry corrected

"Oh, excuse me," Arya joked

"It's simple, my sisters have all basically gone into the family business in one way or another, except my youngest because Aly is still in her 2nd year of college. And my brother went into the force, well, before everything happened and he ended up in the family business."

"What does that have to do with you choosing Art History?" Arya asked

"I'm getting to it, you're so impatient."

"Well get to the point, stupid," Arya said smiling.

"The point, Miss Arya, is that I didn't feel like going into the family business, and I was having conflicted emotions over that. So, one day my dad sat me down and passed me one of my first cameras, the first one I paid for all by myself, then he said you already know what you want to do, you've always known. Don't worry about us or what we might think, this is about you and your life. So, I went into photography, and as for art history, I had to go to a lot of museums for my classes and I discovered how much I loved finding out the story and the circumstances behind each piece. Like a piece taken during a war might be breathtaking by itself, but when you look at it with the context of the situation you find out there's so many different sides and interpretations to it,"  Gendry said, finishing his small tangent when he noticed Arya staring at him in a peculiar manner.

"What?"

"This makes you very happy doesn't it?"

"Why do you say that?"

"Because you get this goofy smile on your face whenever you talk about it."

"Yeah well," he said, blushing a little.

"It's nice, I like it," Arya said just as his phone started to ring.

"Excuse me one moment."

 

"This is Gendry."

"Do you still have a car in King's Landing?"

"What are you even doing in King's Landing?"

"Just answer the question."

"Yes Jon, I still have a car in King's Landing, why?"

"Just a small job, no big deal, but I need a getaway car just in case."

"The keys are in the apartment, on top of the refrigerator," Gendry told him and heard Jon moving around. "Wait, are you already in the apartment?"

"Well, I did need a place to get ready."

“Get ready for what?” Gendry asked

“I have to go or else I’m going to be late, thanks for the car little brother,” Jon said

“Late for what? Jon? Jon?” Gendry asked as he noticed Jon had hung up on him.

“Everything okay?” Arya asked as she arrived with two coffees and gave one to Gendry who thanked her.  
“Yeah, my brother is just a dick sometimes,” Gendry commented

“I think being a dick to your siblings from time to time comes with the territory. I know Sansa would tell you that I have been known to have my moments.”

“You don’t say,” Gendry remarked

“You’re such an asshole,” Arya said laughing

“Oh, I’ve never denied that,” Gendry responded

“So, back to what we were discussing. You became a photographer taking photos of the free cities as a rebellion against joining the family company? Is that about right?” Arya asked

“Well, I don’t know how much of a rebellion it was considering both my parents were supportive, but yes that does seem to be the case doesn’t it. My job isn’t just in the free cities, that’s just where my current project is.”

“And you get the pleasure of showing the sites to an incredible person,” Arya said, smirking into her coffee and walking ahead of him.

“That is most definitely a plus,” Gendry agreed, smiling as he followed behind her. He’d follow her anywhere.

* * *

The day had been uneventful so far. Sansa had gotten up early, gone to breakfast, spoken to her mother on the phone, had picked up her dress and then had gone to her hair appointment. Jeyne had been a lot more excited for the Gala than she was, but Sansa appreciated the chance to dress up. She was wearing a gorgeous sage Galvan dress that she and Margaery had picked out together for the event. The Gala itself wasn’t entirely as awful as she’d been expecting, but that was mostly thanks to her friendship with Renly. Renly Baratheon was the youngest of the Baratheon line, and the only one Sansa could actually stand. He’d been on her side when everything with Joffrey went down and for that she’d be forever thankful.  

 

“Your husband could burn me with his eyes right now,” Sansa joked as she felt eyes on her.

“Well, he is the jealous sort,” Renly joked as he twirled her.

“Loras hates me,” Sansa stated and at Renly’s look she continued, “You know it’s true, he was never a big fan of me and after everything with Willas...” Sansa trailed off

“He’ll get over it. You did the right thing, you know?”

“You think so?” Sansa asked softly, and Renly felt bad for his young friend. The situation with the Tyrells was definitely complicated.

“I know so. Willas is hurting right now, but he’ll get over it. It’s better it happened now than later down the road.”

“Margaery has said something similar in the past.”

“Well, my sister-in-law is very wise when she wants to be.”

“I have to admit I was surprised she was still talking to me, just as I’m surprised at the fact that you’re dancing with me.”

“Well it was either dance with you or leave you to deal with the likes of Baelish, and even if I _were_ angry at you, I could never be _that_ angry,” Renly said., “And if Loras has a problem with me dancing with my friend, he can suck it.”

“That’s what he said,” Sansa replied making Renly laugh.

“Channeling Marg, were you?”

“You left it wide open.”

“To answer your question, there most likely will be some sucking tonight.”

“Ren!” she exclaimed laughing

“You started it. It’s nice to see your smile, it doesn’t show up a lot nowadays.”

“I haven’t exactly had many reasons to smile I guess.”

“Well I hope that changes soon, you deserve to be happy, Stark.” The honesty in his voice touched her heart. “And regarding Margaery, you two were best friends long before you and Willas had anything. She adores you, there’s no way she’d stop talking to you. Plus, there’s still a way for you two to be sisters considering there’s a high possibility that she will end up married to your brother.”

“They do make a great couple, don’t they?”

“They do, a very strange couple, but it works,” Renly said smiling

“I want that,” Sansa said softly

“You’ll have it, I’m sure of it. And you never know, the right guy might be just around the corner,” Renly told her as the song ended.

“Go find your husband. I’ll be fine on my own,” Sansa said as he kissed her cheek and then left. Sansa started walking towards the refreshments table when she saw Baelish heading her way, and suddenly she regretted sending Renly away. Before she could do anything, she felt a hand on her back. She turned around to see the most gorgeous man she’d seen in probably her entire life,he had grey eyes and was slightly shorter than her but she had never paid close attention to those kinds of details. He gave off an air of danger and mystery with his dark tuxedo which matched his dark curls.

“You looked like you needed saving,” the mysterious man said, and Sansa felt herself relax as she saw Baelish walk the other direction.

“How did you know?” Sansa wondered

“I have a few sisters. I’ve seen that look on your face many times.”

“Well thank you kind sir. Does my savior have a name?”

“If I told you my name that would take away the mystery, wouldn’t it?”

“Is there a way that I can thank you for saving me?”

“Just a dance,” he said as a soft song started playing.

“It would be my pleasure,” she said as they walked towards the dance floor. She put her arm around his neck as his hand went to her back and pulled her closer. They danced in comfortable silence for a few moments until Sansa decided to try and find out out more about this mysterious savior.

“I’ve not seen you around these parts before.”

“Maybe you haven’t looked close enough.”

“Oh, I’ve looked. I know pretty much everyone here, and yet I am sure I’ve never seen your face.”

“And why is that?” he asked

“I’d remember it,” she replied

“Have you been to many of these functions?”

“You could say something like that, have you?”

“I make it a point not to spend too much time in King’s Landing, but perhaps I should have if they are filled with women as beautiful as you.”

“That is such a line,” Sansa commented, and as the man laughed his smile filled her with a sense of warmth she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

“Maybe it is, doesn’t make it any less true.”

“So if you don’t like King’s Landing, what are you doing here?”

“Technically, I am not here.”

“Well, then you dance spectacularly well for someone who isn’t actually here, Mr. Ghost.” She flirted and saw his eyes narrow when she called him Ghost.

“Ghost?” he asked, and there was something in his voice that she couldn’t quite explain.

“Well, if you’re not really here and you seem to have snuck in then you must be a ghost. I need to be able to call you something,” she said and saw his smile come back to his face. She felt his body relax beneath her touch.

“You think I snuck in?”

“Call it a hunch. I don’t know the why or the how since I know security at these events is pretty good, but from what you’ve said I’m guessing you’re not part of the socialite in this city, and those were the only ones invited to this particular event.”

“So, you’re as intelligent as you are gorgeous. Is there anything you can’t do?”

“Apparently get your name,” she replied cheekily

“Keep playing your cards right and you just might.”

“So, what are you doing here? I doubt you’re only here to rescue maidens from creepy old men.”

“That was definitely a plus, but let’s say I’m doing someone a favor by being here.”

“You won’t tell me more than that will you?” Sansa asked already knowing the answer.

“I like the mystery,” he claimed as the song came to an end. He kissed her hand, and before she could say another word, he had disappeared. Perhaps, he truly was a ghost.

* * *

They had spent the rest of the afternoon doing touristy things, and now Arya was tired. Gendry was taking a shower at the moment, then they were going to head out for dinner although Arya was of the idea they should just order room service and watch some television.

She loved traveling the free cities with Gendry even if that meant her trip was a lot more organized than she originally thought it would be. Arya had just graduated from college, and this trip had been part of her gift from her parents before she had to go home and figure out what she wanted to do for the rest of her life. It was meant to be a trip to find herself, and instead she’d found Gendry. She’d stumbled upon him a few days after arriving in the continent of Essos, and she remembered how much he annoyed the shit out of her at first. He’d kept showing up everywhere she went until she confronted him about it. It wasn’t that he was following her, just that they were both apparently headed in the same direction, so they figured it would be easier to just travel together.

That had been 2 months ago and Arya had yet to regret her decision to agree to travel with him. There was something about Gendry that just pulled her in. Arya had never been that great at making friends, that was Sansa and Robb’s thing. She’d always been Sansa Stark’s little sister or Robb Stark’s little sister so it was nice to just be Arya for once. Gendry didn’t know Robb or Sansa, and Arya hadn’t realized how much she’d needed that. She missed her siblings a lot, but it was nice to step out of the shadows for a bit. And she’d never met anyone like Gendry before. She felt like they could tell each other everything and there would be no judgement. There was also a voice in her head, that sounded a lot like Margaery Tyrell, that reminded her that he was also very nice to look at. 

She noticed his camera sitting next to the computer as he’d been transferring the photos before he got in the shower. Curious, she grabbed it and sat on her bed to look through the day’s photos. The smug asshole was stupidly talented, so the photos were pretty breathtaking. Then she got to the photos that weren’t work related; the photos he’d taken of her. She couldn’t remember him taking most of these, and as she looked through them she was entranced at what she saw. She was so busy watching them she didn’t even notice when Gendry came out of the shower.

“So where do you want to go tonight?” Gendry asked then looked to where she was sitting and noticed his camera in her hands. “Oh.”

“Is this how you see me?” Arya asked softly

“It’s no big deal,” Gendry said, trying to play it off. He hadn’t wanted her to find out how much he actually liked her because he was certain it would push her away, and that was the last thing he wanted to do.

“These are gorgeous. You made me look so beautiful.”  
“Have you seen yourself in a mirror, Arya? You not just beautiful, you’re gorgeous,” Gendry admitted, and then Arya put the camera where she found it and headed towards him.

“You really think I’m gorgeous?” Arya asked softly. She’d never been the gorgeous sister, it had taken her awhile to admit that she wasn’t ugly, but that was a long way from being gorgeous. Girls like Sansa and Margaery were gorgeous, she was just Arya.

“I think you’re most gorgeous woman I’ve ever met in my life, and I think you’re as beautiful inside as you are outside and I just wanted to capture that in a moment. Although, I don’t know if I manage to do you justice,” Gendry said, starting to ramble a bit at the end.

“Gendry?”

“Yeah?”  
“Shut up,” she said, and before he knew it she was reaching up and kissing him. It was a soft kiss, a wonderful kiss. Then they broke apart and she was looking at him in such a way that he couldn’t help but kiss her again. This one was a lot more passionate as Arya started to unbutton his shirt, revealing his very glorious abs.

“Your abs are so unfair by the way,” Arya muttered and felt his body shake with laughter.

“Look who’s talking, your arms are fantastic,” he said in between kisses, at this point she’d taken of his shirt and was working on taking off his pants. “Are you sure about this?”  
Arya just smiled at the small uncertainty in his eyes and kissed him once again. “I’ve never been more sure of anything.”

“Good,” he declared as he picked her up and placed her on the bed, they stared at each other for a minute before Arya smiled and turned them around so she was the one on top. He gladly let her take the lead as they kissed once more.

* * *

Oberyn liked to think that despite their less-than-usual employment, and less than usual relationship, there were a few things he and Lyanna did that were more or less normal. Normally in the afternoons they would both finish something work-related and then they would relax. This afternoon Oberyn was looking over the latest reports and Lyanna was… cleaning. More specifically, she kept cleaning the shelf in the small living room next to their bedroom. She’d been cleaning that shelf for the last ten minutes so Oberyn knew something was wrong.

 “Okay what gives?" Oberyn asked, looking up from his paperwork.

"What gives about what?" Lyanna asked

"You're nervous about something."

"I'm fine."

"You've been cleaning the same spot for the past ten minutes, you’re not fine," Oberyn said, putting down his papers and going to where Lyanna was standing.

"Plus, there's the fact that you're cleaning. You hate cleaning, it's the one chore you always throw to someone else."

"I do clean," Lyanna said indignantly

"You stress clean, there's a difference," Oberyn pointed out, standing behind her and starting to massage her shoulders. "So you want to tell your darling husband what's wrong?"

"That's the thing... I can't explain it," Lyanna said leaning into his touch, her husband's hands were magic but for some reason they didn't seem to be having their usual effect.

"Is it Jon? Because you know he's more than capable of going to a simple meeting without being seen. In fact he excels at it."

"I know and I have no clue why I feel like this, it's not the first time he's gone on assignment and it won't be the last, but I can't help but feel like there's something we missed."

"I think you're just nervous because the mission concerns Brandon... and Ned, which brings up painful memories. It's been awhile since you had to deal with that particular situation," Oberyn said

"You're probably right, I have been slightly on edge lately," Lyanna admitted

"Well, I do have a foolproof way of taking care of that edge," he said, turning around to face her before kissing her neck.

"You're insatiable."

"With you as my wife, can you blame me?" he said, and she cut off whatever he was going to say next with a kiss as they walked towards their room and closed the door behind them.

* * *

Sansa had never seen things descend into chaos so quickly. One moment Stannis was announcing her father’s recognition and the next shots were fired. She screamed the moment she saw her dad fall down next to her. Maybe it was the adrenaline or the shock but something told her they needed to find somewhere safe.

 “Dad, hold onto me,” Sansa pleaded as he put his hand across her neck and she held on to him as tightly as she could, even as she felt him going in and out of consciousness. She couldn’t see a familiar face in all the chaos, but knew they had no time to look for anyone right now, she had to make sure her dad was alright. They kept walking as fast as they could when she noticed them. The guards had seemed peculiar earlier, and now she knew why—they weren’t guards at all were they?

“Stop right there,” the leader said. He was a huge mountain of a man who seemed vaguely familiar to Sansa, then she realized her father and her were outnumbered 4 to 2.

“Where do you think you’re going, miss?” another of the men spoke.

“Please let me go my father needs help,” Sansa pleaded

“No can do, the boss was quite clear on the instructions,” the leader said as he started moving towards them.

Sansa was imagining the worst just as the man fell down with a bullet in between his eyes. Sansa turned around to look behind her and there he was, the mysterious Ghost she’d danced with earlier—he’d saved her once again. They exchanged looks before one of the men came at him, then Ghost threw him to the floor with ease. He dodged the hits and got some hits of his own. Sansa knew next to nothing about fighting, but even she could see he was a natural at it. Then there was another gunshot sound, and Sansa closed her eyes scared of the outcome.

“Hey, it’s alright,” came the soothing voice from earlier in the night when everything seemed good. She opened her eyes to see his calming dark-grey eyes looking at her terrified blue ones.

“My dad, he needs help,” she stammered out, and he nodded and went to Ned’s other side and took on most of the weight.

“We need to find some room to lay low, someone must have heard the commotion,” he stated, and thankfully after a little walking they found a room. Sansa was not sure how they managed to get inside, but she wasn’t sure of anything in the moment. She watched as he laid her dad down on one of the beds.

“We need to find something to block the door.”

“What are you? Who are you?? Who were those guys?” Sansa exclaimed

“I’ll explain all I can, but first we need to block this door because I don’t think locking it will be enough if they find out we’re here,” he answered, and she started looking and found a bookshelf.

“Will this work?” she asked pointing at the bookshelf.

“That’s perfect, help me move it in front of the door,” he said, and so she did. She wasn’t sure how much she helped in moving it, but at least she felt a bit less helpless. Once they placed the bookshelf in front of the door she heard her dad regain consciousness. She ran towards him, and her savior went to check on her father’s wound.

“Sansa…”

“Dad you’re okay, we’re safe… for now,” Sansa stated, trying not to show how terrified she truly was.

“Jon? Is that you?” he asked softly as he saw the man in front of him.

“How did you...?” Jon asked looking between Sansa and her father.

“You look like your mother and you have her eyes,” Ned stated

“Save your breath dad, we’ll get help,” Sansa pleaded.

“We both know I’m not going to make it out of this room, and there a few things you need to know,” Ned stated and looked at Jon.

“What is it?”

“Check my jacket pocket,” Ned said coughing, and Jon pulled out two USBs. “Guard them with your life.”

“I will.”

“Sansa, my darling.”

“Daddy, don’t leave me.” Sansa cried holding onto him, not caring that her dress was getting bloody.

“I love you, and I am so proud of you. Tell your siblings I’m proud of them too. Tell Arya not to fight your mother too much, and tell Robb that I believe in him. Tell Bran and Rickon that I love them. Tell your mother she was always the love of my life, and my life was worth it because she was in it. Trust Jon, he’ll keep you safe,” her father said. It was getting harder for him to talk, and Sansa knew the end was coming.

“I will… Daddy, I love you.”

“Jon, come here.” Ned asked, and Jon kneeled next to him. “Tell your mother that I’m sorry we never got to have that second chance at being a family. I failed her many times over, but I did love her.”

“She knows Ned, she knows.”

“Trust no one, there’s a lot more than meets the eye. There’s many layers I couldn’t uncover all, but Brandon and everything… it’s connected,” Ned said before he started coughing more and more. “And I have to ask you for one last thing.”  
“Anything.”

“Promise me Jon, promise me. Promise you’ll protect Sansa.”

“I swear, I’ll protect her with my life,” Jon declared, and with that Sansa felt his hand go numb and her dad was dead.

“Dad, Daddy, don't leave me.” Sansa cried over his body as Jon closed his eyes.

“We need to go.”

“We can't just leave him here,” Sansa stated, outraged at the idea of it. Her father, her warm and loving father, deserved better than this.

“We don't have a choice. I don't like it any more than you do, but if we stay here we’ll die because sooner or later whoever hired those goons will find us and I might be good but I'm not superman. And considering we need to get out of here fast, we can't take him with us,” Jon stated, and she hated that she could see the logic in his argument.

“How are we leaving, we blocked the door if you recall.”

“Stand back,” Jon said.

She did as asked then watched as he shot the window four times until the window cracked, then threw one of the chairs at it, and, sure enough, it broke.

“Help me lift him,” Sansa ordered.

“What are you trying to do?”

“My dress is practically drenched in blood and his jacket is mostly unscathed, so if we don't get it we’re going to probably get stopped by someone.”

“Good idea,” he muttered, and then he proceeded to be the one to take the jacket off the body before handing it to her. Then he took a sheet from the other bed and covered the body with it. He deserved that much.

“How do I do this?” Sansa asked

“I'll hold the chair down while you get out the window,” he told her, and she nodded then took her shoes off and did as he told her. A few minutes later she saw him climb out the window.

“We have to jump,” he stated, and she looked at him incredulously.

“Are you insane?” she asked

“It’s the only way.”

“We’re going to die.”

“We’re not going to die, it’s not that high.”

“Okay, then we’re probably going to break bones.”

“Do you trust me?”

“I basically just met you,” Sansa responded despite the fact that her heart was telling her that yes, for some reason she _did_ trust this mysterious stranger who she had danced with and who apparently knew her family.

“That’s not a no,” Jon said smirking, and she rolled her eyes. “I’ll jump, then you can jump and I’ll catch you.”  
“You promise?”

“I promise,” Jon stated. She nodded and sure enough he jumped, and seemed to actually land on his feet. Then she threw her shoes at him which he caught with ease. Maybe it really wasn’t that high, maybe it was in her head, she had never been great with heights, that was Bran. Bran loved heights and Arya was the thrill-seeker, Sansa was the one that preferred staying indoors and wasn’t a big fan of roller-coasters.

“Sansa, you have to jump.”  
“It’s too high, I’m scared.”  
“I know but I’ll catch you, I swear it,” Jon said. Once again Sansa could hear the honesty in his voice, and so she took a leap of faith and she jumped. And sure enough he caught her and she felt like she could breathe once again.

“I told you I’d catch you,” he said softly as he handed her shoes to her to put back on.

“Do you know where we are going?”

“I have a place in mind, but we have to make a stop first.”

“What stop?”

“We need to make you less recognizable, and we need to get you out of that dress.”  
“You should buy me dinner first,” Sansa said trying to resort to her usual ways of using humor in difficult situations. It wasn’t really working.

“We’ll get to that,” he said as they walked two blocks to where there was a car parked.

“Are we going to break into a car?” Sansa asked

“I’ve got the keys so it’s not breaking in.”

“Is this your car?”

“Not mine no, but let’s say I have permission to drive it,” he said, sheepishly.

“You know what? I don’t want to know,” Sansa replied

“Wise answer,” Jon said as they set off for places unknown and Sansa left all she knew behind.

* * *

Catelyn had finally managed to get Rickon to go to bed. Figures that her youngest would be the rowdiest, none of her other children ever gave her this much trouble, not even Arya in her most rebellious days or Robb in his long past teen years. But this was the last time she'd have to deal with a teenager. At least until her children decided to have children of their own, and even then it would be years of peace before the teen years. 

She was finishing dinner when her oldest and his girlfriend came bursting in the door.

“Robb, just because you have a key doesn't mean you don't have to knock. Who raised you?” Catelyn joked.

“Mom,” Robb said, and with one word Catelyn’s world changed forever.

“What is it?”

“Have you checked the news yet?” Robb asked

“I was getting Rickon to go to sleep. Why what's going on?” Catelyn asked

“Mrs. Stark, you should probably sit down.”

“Margaery since when do you call me Mrs. Stark, it's Catelyn. Now will you two tell me what is going on?”

“Something happened, something bad,” Robb started, he couldn’t find the words, how exactly do you tell your mother something like this? He didn’t know if he was strong enough to do this, then he felt Margaery squeeze his hand and nod at him.

“Mom, Dad’s dead,” Robb finally said as his voice cracked.

“No that’s not possible, your father is fine, he’s going to call any minute and complain about the gala and how much he hates dressing up,” Catelyn started spouting random things, he couldn’t be dead, not her husband, _not her Ned_.

“Gunshots were fired during the Gala, and he was one of the victims, at least he’s the only one they’ve identified other than Gregor Clegane and Robert Baratheon,” Margaery explained, repeating what Loras had told her when he’d called earlier to tell her he was alright. He claimed the gunshots started as Stannis was announcing the recognitions. Stannis had gotten hit, but it had been a graze. Loras told Margaery how all the Baratheons were taken to a secure room until the premises were cleared.

“And Sansa? Where is Sansa? Where is your sister?” Catelyn pleaded as Robb and Margaery exchanged a look. “What is it? Just tell me!”

“There’s no sign of Sansa anywhere. Maybe she got out, maybe she’s staying with a friend or her phone ran out of battery,” Robb said, spouting all the possibilities even if he didn’t believe in any of them.

“Sansa would never leave your father to die alone,” Catelyn stated, and there was nothing Robb or Margaery could say because it was true. If Sansa had been there when Ned was shot, there was no way she’d leave his side.

‘Your father’s body, he should be put to rest in Winterfell,” Catelyn said, getting off the couch and reaching for her phone. Robb took it out of her hands.

“Margaery and I, we’re going to King's Landing first thing in the morning with Jory and Rodrik Cassel and we’re bringing his body home. We’ll see what we can find out about Sansa when we’re there.”

“Catelyn, we promise you we’ll take care of it,” Margaery told her future mother-in-law.

“I need to go, I need to be alone. I’m sorry,” Catelyn stated as she left the room, leaving the other two behind.

“What are we going to do Marg?” Robb muttered

“I wish I had an answer for you, but whatever it is, you know you can count on me, and on my family,” Margaery told him holding onto his hand

“He wasn’t even going to go to the Gala. Mom and I told him he should, that it would be good for business, that he could see Sansa, and now he’s gone. I can’t even remember the last thing I said to him. Did I tell him I loved him, did I tell Sansa I loved her?”

“He knew Robb, your dad knew how much you loved him. And San? She sounded happy last I talked to her. She was happy about the engagement and basically said it was about time you got off your ass and asked me. She loved, she _loves_ you most of all, she’s going to be fine you’ll see.”

“What if she’s hurt? What if someone took her?”

“This is Sansa we’re talking about, she didn’t survive Joffrey just to get killed at a random shooting. We’ll find her Robb, I promise you we’ll find her,” she proclaimed as her fianceé finally broke down in tears for the first time since they had gotten the news. All she could do at the moment was comfort him. For someone with her talent for words, Margaery was at a loss at to how to help the man she loved.

* * *

Sansa had fallen asleep in the drive on the way to the safehouse, and Jon hated the thought of waking her but they needed to get inside. He’d passed by a store and gotten a bit of a temporary solution to their problem, along with some refreshments for the road ahead.

“Sansa, we’re here,” Jon said softly as she woke up.

“Where exactly is here?” Sansa wondered as he opened the car door for her to get out.

“I told you we were going to make a small stop, and then we’re going to be on the road again. You can freshen up and change out of the dress into something more comfortable.” Jon told her as he grabbed the stuff from the car and they headed towards the door.

“I’m going to guess you have the passcode? We’re not breaking into a stranger’s house are we?” Sansa asked as Jon inputted the code.

“After you, my lady,” Jon said, opening the door for her. She walked inside, and he followed closely and locked the door behind them. He went towards the window and did exactly as his mother had done earlier that week, turning on Sarella’s newest gadget.

“You didn’t exactly answer my question about where we are, you know.”

“I think this house is technically in Reach territory, all I know is we’re closer to the Reach than we are to King's Landing, which is what we wanted.”

“How long till we reach our final destination?” Sansa asked

“It’s still a journey ahead, we could go by plane which is shorter but riskier,” Jon muttered, thinking out loud.

“What were you going to do originally?” Sansa asked

“If everything had gone smoothly and according to plan?” Jon asked and she nodded. “I would probably be already on a plane to Dorne right about now.”

“Dorne?”

“Dorne.”

“I’m sorry for saying this, but you don’t exactly strike me as a dornishman..”

“I was born in the North believe it or not, my mother moved us south when I was around 5 years old.”

“What did my dad mean when he talked about loving your mother?” Sansa asked, finally giving words to the question that had been plaguing her since everything had gone down.

“I don’t know the full story, not really, but my mother lost her parents in a crash when she was little and the Starks took her in. They grew up as siblings and then life went to shit.”

“What happened?”

“My mother got pregnant at 16, which was bad enough in Rickard Stark’s eyes but you add who the sperm-donor was and it gets messier, things went downhill from there. It’s a long and sordid tale and one that is not mine to tell,” Jon said, looking away from her for the first time since they met.

“Lyanna, that’s your mother’s name isn’t it?” Sansa said, connecting the dots with something she’d heard when she was younger.

“Yeah, that’s my mother’s name.”  

“There was a photo in the fireplace throughout my childhood. It was 4 people—3 boys and 1 girl—the caption said Brandon, Lyanna, Ned and Benjen. I knew who Ned and and Benjen were obviously, and I’d heard of uncle Brandon in a few family stories, but I wasn’t sure who the girl was. So I asked around, my dad got a sad expression on his face when I asked and just said it was someone from long ago, someone he’d failed,” she explained, and Jon was once again looking at her. “I didn’t understand that back then until one day Benjen came to visit. When we were alone I asked Benjen about the photo. He explained that Lyanna was their sister, and that they’d lost her a few years after they lost Brandon. When I asked how she died he just said who said she died? She’s just lost to us, or well lost to your father.”

“Yeah that is definitely my mother,” Jon stated softly, then looked at her in the eye. “I’m sorry about your father, I truly am, this was not supposed to happen. Something went wrong, I was woefully unprepared.”

“What was your favor if you don’t mind me asking?” Sansa asked, using the word he’d used earlier in the night. Their dance seemed so far away now after everything that happened after.

“It was supposed to be a simple meeting. Your father was going to give me info and I’d be on my way back home, and no one would have even noticed I was there to begin with.”

“It wasn’t an accident, was it?” Sansa asked rhetorically.

“Your father was definitely their intended target, but...” Jon started to say then trailed off.

“You don’t know if I was a target as well.”

“This is exactly why we had to leave quickly. Maybe you weren’t a target and can go home as soon as we clear the air, but the most likely situation is that you were also a target.”

“Why would I be a target? And who would kill my father? He was a good man, a decent businessman.”

“He was a man that knew too much. I think whoever silenced him didn’t want whatever your father knew to be said,” Jon explained

“And these people probably think I know something.”  
“It’s a logical conclusion, even if you don’t know what it was they killed him for, there might be something that you don’t realize that you know.”

“This is so confusing,” Sansa muttered, and Jon just wanted to pull her close and comfort her but she barely knew him and she’d just lost her father so that was probably not the best course of action.

“Yeah, it can get complicated.”

“Wait, you mentioned a plane. Were you going to go to an airport after the gala or something?”

“More like I had a plane waiting for me at Blackwater Bay,” Jon finally admitted

“Why didn’t you get on it?” Sansa asked

“I promised your father I’d protect you and getting on a plane so close to King's Landing would have been an obvious move, hence why we didn’t.”

“You sacrificed your quickest way home for a girl you barely knew,” Sansa murmured.

“Home can wait, there was a damsel in distress,” he said, making a small joke to ease the tension.

“Thank you,” she said softly, and he just nodded.

“You know what? Let’s stay the night here and we’ll set out in the morning. You’re probably exhausted, both physically and mentally, and this way I can set up a few things for tomorrow,” he said, changing the subject. “You go up one floor and the first room on your right is a bedroom—it has a bathroom so you can take a shower and I bought you some clothes. I’m sorry if they’re a bit large, I didn’t want to wake you just to ask you what your size was.”

“Thank you again, you didn’t need to do any of this,” Sansa said

“It was nothing, truly,” Jon responded, and she just nodded. She was heading up when she turned and looked at him.

“You need your rest too, you’ve been driving all night,” Sansa pointed out.

“I will, don’t worry, just need to make a call first,” Jon told her as she made her way upstairs. 

He needed to check in with his family, tell him he was okay as they would have no doubt heard the news by now. Otherwise, his mother would worry, especially if the plane arrived back in Sunspear and they were told he never boarded. Plus, he needed to talk to someone about quickly faxing him some fake documentation for himself and Sansa and their journey to Dorne.

* * *

Lyanna was woken up by the lights in her bedroom suddenly coming on. She looked next to her and her husband was still mostly asleep, so it clearly wasn’t him that turned on the lights. Then she looked to the door and Sarella was standing there.

“What have we said about knocking in this house?”

“I knocked, you guys didn’t answer and this… it can’t wait,” Sarella commented, and there was something in her expression that told Lyanna it was serious. Not to mention, this was Sarella, she wasn’t the type to interrupt for no reason.

“Darling give your dad and I a moment to get dressed and we’ll meet you in our sitting room.” Sarella nodded and closed the door behind her. She went and grabbed her bathrobe from the bathroom before she woke her husband up.

“Oberyn, wake the fuck up.”

“Lya it’s...” Oberyn said checking the clock next on his bedside, “2 in the morning, can’t this wait?”

“According to Sarella it’s urgent, so put on some pants because our daughter is waiting for us outside,” Lyanna told him as he wiped the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed a pair of underwear and sweatpants from the closet and came back to the room.

“Let’s go then,” he said putting a comforting hand on her back.

 

When they opened the bedroom door and walked into the sitting room, Sarella seemed to be pacing.

“We’re here. What was so urgent that couldn’t wait until normal morning hours?” Oberyn asked.

“I was up late waiting on a project. I was trying to improve upon the latest mechanisms in the listening devices, you know so the sound comes through better and that way there’s no misunderstandings or having to listen to something a thousand times to try and figure out what is being said.”

“Ella darling, get to the point,” Lyanna said, getting more and more worried as time went on. Sarella was not the type to ramble unless she was nervous about something.

“There was commotion in King's Landing, at Stannis Baratheon’s gala.”

“What kind of commotion?” Lyanna said sitting down on the couch.

“Not much is known so far just that there were gunshots and people were wounded. That was Jon’s latest job, wasn’t it?” Sarella asked softly. She was technically not supposed to know but since was in charge of all the gadgets, she always found out.   

“I’m going to call Arthur,” Oberyn stated and immediately dialed the number to his family’s head of security. “Please tell me you have good news.”

“I have both good and bad news,” Arthur told him

“Has the plane landed?” Oberyn asked

“Around an hour ago,” Arthur responded

“Then what is it?” Oberyn asked

“Your son wasn’t on the plane. He never got to the rendezvous point.”

“Fuck.” Oberyn let out a curse that made both the women in the room turn to look at him.

“What is it? Is it Jon? Is he okay?” Lyanna asked, wanting nothing more than to hear her baby boy was alright.

“Hey hey hey, Martell, he’s fine! Calm down,” Arthur told him

“How do you know?” Oberyn exclaimed

“Because I just got off the phone with him. There were extenuating circumstances so he decided it was better to lay low and get out of King's Landing as soon as he could, so he’s in one of the safe houses. He’s alright,” Arthur explained, and Oberyn felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

“So everything is good?”

“Almost everything, but the last part I have to tell you guys in person, not over the phone.”

“Understood, thanks Arthur.”  
“It’s what I’m here for,” Arthur said as Oberyn hung up the phone and sat down next to his wife who was looking at him expectantly.

“Jon is fine, Arthur said he couldn’t get on the plane for some reason but that he just talked to him. He’s staying in one of the safehouses. You know our kid, he’s a smart one. He probably needed rest, after all it is a long trip back to Dorne.”

“So, he’s alright?” Sarella asked

“From what I know Jon is perfectly safe. Now go back to sleep or well go to sleep, you know you’re supposed to get eight hours of it,” Oberyn told his daughter.

“Dad I’m 29, I’m not a child, you can’t exactly make me go to sleep.”

“To us you’re always going to be a kid, and I bet it’s been a stressful night, so go to sleep. Otherwise, you’ll be all cranky tomorrow,” Oberyn said, and Sarella just laughed, gave Lyanna a kiss on the cheek, and left the room.

“If Jon is fine then why are you still worried?” Lyanna asked

“Arthur said there was something else, but that he couldn’t tell us over the phone. So, we’re meeting tomorrow,” Oberyn explained

“What could it be?” Lyanna asked

“I don't know, but this entire situation reeks... and it's just...” Oberyn started to say trying to find the correct word

“Strange.”

“Jon has never missed a checkpoint,” Oberyn muttered

“Apparently, there's a first time for everything.”

“I'm sorry.”

“For what?” she asked confused

“I should have listened to you, you felt something was wrong and I didn't listen. Next time something feels off, I'll listen.”

“Hey, there was no way we could have known... hell, I'd also thought it was just motherly worry.”

“The point is your instincts are normally correct, and I should listen.”

“Well, I appreciate that. Jon is okay, right?”

“Yeah, Arthur assured he was perfectly okay,” Oberyn said, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

“Then let's go see if we can sleep for a few hours before we have to get up and meet Arthur.”

* * *

Jon woke up a bit disoriented and was hit with a smell of, was that bacon? Then everything that had happened the day before hit him, and he remembered why it was that he was sleeping on a couch in a safe house in the Reach rather than in his apartment in Dorne. He looked at his watch, it was 7 am. So, it was still good time.

“Did I wake you? I wanted to at least finish this before you woke up,” Sansa said, and she couldn’t help but notice how cute he looked with sleep in his eyes.

“The smell of bacon is a very powerful alarm clock,” Jon commented as he walked over to the kitchen and saw that she’d prepared pancakes with bacon. There was also a carton of orange juice and two glasses.

“Well, I wanted to do something for you, after…” Sansa trailed off and then continued, “I figured I could make us a small breakfast, and I’ve met very few people who don’t like bacon, so I thought bacon and pancakes was a good choice.”

“It’s a great thought, thank you. I love pancakes,” Jon told her, and her smile lit up her face and she looked even more beautiful. And there was only one thing Jon was sure of in that moment, he was fucked.

“Did you actually get any sleep last night?” Sansa asked as they both sat down to eat breakfast.

“Yes I did, made a few calls, got a few things faxed over, and then managed to get a bit of sleep, don’t worry.”  
“So, what’s the plan?” Sansa asked.

“As soon as we’re ready we’re going head out, first we’ll dump the car just in case, then we’ve got a train that will take us to Starfall.”

“A train? Isn’t that complicated, especially considering I have no papers?” Sansa asked, and he got up and grabbed something from the table and showed it to her. “Sara Sand?”

“It’s the best she could do under the time restraints, we’ll get you better ones once we get to Starfall.”

“Do I want to know how you actually got a picture of me?”

“I tend not to ask her how she does what she does, it takes away the magic,” Jon smirked

“Am I going to meet this mysterious she?” Sansa asked

“She’s who we’re meeting in Starfall,” Jon told her. “Ashara lives in Starfall and has her sort of base of operations there.”  
“Ashara, as in Ashara Dayne? She was married to my uncle Brandon, wasn’t she?” Sansa asked

“Yeah, she moved here with their daughter after his funeral, then my mother followed her a few years later.”

“That’s why you ended up in Dorne.”  
“Pretty much,” Jon said and then remembered the things he’d gotten the night before, and went to get them from the loveseat.

“What is this?”

“You hair color is gorgeous, but it’s also very noticeable.”

“You think my hair color is gorgeous?” Sansa asked smirking, and he just rolled his eyes.

“I think I made it quite clear yesterday while dancing that I think you are a very attractive woman,” Jon stated, but she’d just smiled in return and took the clothes and the wig to the bathroom. She came out a few minutes later wearing the jeans and the hoodie he’d gotten. If he didn’t know any better he’d say she was a natural brunette.

“How does it look?” She asked twirling in front of him.

“You look great, I mean the wig looks…it’s good.” Jon stated then went over to her and placed a baseball cap on her head. “All good.”

“What about you, hotshot? What’s your disguise?” Sansa wondered

“They’re not looking for me, trust me, but it’s better to be safe than sorry,” he said as he put on a pair of glasses.

“What are you, Clark Kent?” Sansa joked

“I’ll be whoever you want me to be, but for now, I am Jon Stone.”

“So what are Sara Sand and Jon Stone, family, friends, more than friends?” Sansa asked.

“I’d say they were more than friends, people pay less attention to a young couple travelling together,” Jon stated as he finished getting everything ready for them to leave.

“It’s a long journey ahead, right?” Sansa asked.

“It is,” Jon stated

“Let’s go then,” Sansa said, and then they both walked out of the safehouse, got into the car and headed towards their destination. Both of them conflicted and wary of the future ahead of them.

* * *

Arya was woken up by the sound of her phone ringing off the hook. She looked to her side and there was Gendry fast asleep. Clearly he hadn’t been woken up by her phone’s incessant ringing, but then again she remembered how he’d once told her that he could sleep through anything. The fact that he was in her bed and she was very clearly naked meant the night before had happened, it had not been a dream. Arya didn’t have a moment to ponder it when her phone started ringing again. She carefully left the bed and put on his discarded shirt then went to the table where her phone was.

Ten texts, four missed calls and two voicemails, something had clearly happened. Before she could check any of them, it started ringing in her hand, and she saw her older brother’s face in caller-id so she answered it.

“Robb, do you know what time it is here?” Arya asked

“You finally answered!” Robb exclaimed, and there was something in his voice that he couldn’t quite place.

“Robb, I was sleeping, you know that thing you normally do at night?” Arya muttered, and well she’d done other things, multiple times if memory served, but she wasn’t going to mention that to her brother.

“You need to get here as soon as you can, you’re in Braavos, right?” Robb asked.

“Why? What happened? And yeah I’m in Braavos,” Arya said as she walked out into the hallway.  
“Well, your flight back to Westeros leaves in 2 hours so if I were you I’d get to the airport fast,” Robb stated  
“What flight? Robb I don’t have a ticket, I still have a few places left in my itinerary, I’m not ready to come home not yet,” Arya told him, especially not after what had just happened with Gendry, the last thing she wanted was to leave.  
“I bought you a ticket, the details are in your email,” Robb explained

“You still haven’t told me why I have to go, I’m not going to get on a plane unless you tell me why,” Arya said

“Arya...You know how Stannis was going to give dad a recognition for his donation to his company, right?”

“Yeah, Sansa told me something about it the last time I talked to her.”

“It was last night, and Arya something happened,” Robb told her, and Arya felt a sense of dread in the pit of her stomach.

“Robb, whatever happened just spit it out, I can handle it.”

“Dad’s dead, Arya, and mom needs you here, she needs us all here,” Robb said, and it was like a bucket of cold water hit Arya in the face and she knew what she had to do.

“I’ll head to the airport right now,” Arya said and hung up the phone.

She went back inside the hotel room and wondered at how her life had changed so quickly. In a manner of minutes all her priorities shifted and nothing was as before. She started packing all of her things, not caring if they were properly packed or not. She was still wearing Gendry’s shirt but she couldn’t bear to part with it, so she just finished putting on the rest of her clothes. She knew she should wake Gendry up, he deserved better than this. He deserved a proper goodbye but she didn’t think she could handle it right now, she was barely holding on as it was. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a quick explanation. Then she saw his computer and noticed he was logged in, before she could stop herself she sent two of the photos from yesterday to her email account. At least she’d have something to remind her that this trip had happened.

She walked over to where he was still deep asleep.

“I’m sorry, I hope we meet again someday,” she whispered as a tear fell on his face, then she gave him a kiss on the forehead. She grabbed her bag and left the room, leaving him and their time together behind.

* * *

Jon and Sansa had no problem boarding the train, even with the fact that their documentation was less than perfect. The security turned a blind eye if they noticed something not so normal about their documents. They had talked for a bit on the train, and then Sansa had fallen asleep. And she looked so peaceful while she slept that Jon couldn’t help but stare. Which definitely worked in their favor as their cover story was a couple who were headed to Dorne on a romantic getaway.

“How soon until we get there?” Sansa said as she woke up and noticed her head was on Jon’s shoulder.

“Not much longer, if my calculations are correct we should be getting there in a few minutes so you woke up just in time.”

“Sorry for falling asleep on you again, great company I make,” Sansa replied

“I don’t mind, you’ve had a tough time, it’s good for you to get your sleep.”  
“What are we going to do when we arrive?”

“We’ll be headed for Ashara’s place, we can tell them everything that happened and they can help come up with a cover story for you. Then we’ll see what options we’ve got and go from there.”

“You’ll stay with me, right?” Sansa asked softly,. She couldn’t imagine being in a place as foreign as this and not having him by her side. It hadn’t even been 24 hours since they met, and yet she knew in her soul she could trust him.

“Always,” he said truthfully.

_“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are nearing our final destination of Starfall, please make sure you have all your belongings and we hope you enjoyed the trip. We hope to see you in the future.”_

“I guess that’s our cue, huh.”  

“Are you ready for this?” Jon asked, extending his hand to her, and she knew what he was asking. Was she ready to leave all she knew behind, even if it was just for a couple of months? Was she ready to become someone else entirely? Was she ready to put her trust in this man who despite everything he’d done for her was still pretty much a stranger?

“I am,” she said with perfect certainly while taking his hand as they walked out of the train together.

* * *

Gendry woke up feeling more refreshed than he had in a very long time. Last night seemed like a dream and yet he knew it was real. He’d hooked up with the girl of his dreams and nothing could rain on his parade today. He turned around expecting to see her face, and yet there was no one there. Okay that wasn’t so strange, as Arya normally woke up before he did and went to get them coffee. But the atmosphere of the room felt different and so he headed to the bathroom. Maybe splashing his face would change things.

But her stuff was gone from the bathroom, he found his pair of pants on the floor next to his underwear and he put them on. He searched the rest of the room and realized all traces of Arya were gone. None of her novelty t-shirts were around the floor or in the drawers, her thousand chargers were gone, that pocket knife she loved wasn’t on top of the television. It was as if she’d never been there in the first place. No clue if she’d be back or if she had just gone to get them breakfast.

Then he saw it, there was a note that was hidden underneath his camera. He went over to the table and picked it up.

  ** _I have to go I’m sorry, there’s no time to explain just… I’m sorry - Arya_**

Arya had left while he was asleep, he’d laugh at how cliche the situation was if his heart didn’t feel like it was about to break. He’d thought they had something special, he thought their bond was real, maybe he had misjudged the situation, misjudged her. Maybe Arya hadn’t cared for him the way he had for her and this was her way of explaining things. Either way the reason didn’t matter, Arya was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

**Author's Note:**

> So here it is! Hope you guys enjoy this new adventure!


End file.
